


Old Routines

by venhediss



Category: Pyre (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, jodi and ~ae family bonding, slice of life gives me life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-22
Updated: 2017-09-22
Packaged: 2019-01-04 02:12:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12159501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/venhediss/pseuds/venhediss
Summary: The nature of the Downside often makes even the most basic routines of daily living impossible. That includes basic hygiene, so if, by some miracle, you don't need to worry about water for a day or two, you can be sure your entire team is getting a real bath.





	Old Routines

**Author's Note:**

> Originally a fic prompt fill from tumblr: “Jodi doing daily things in the Downside, especially with *ae”

Water, strictly speaking, was not difficult to find in the Downside. No, sometimes there was even an overabundance of it. But along with it came an overabundance of illnesses and complaints. Whether tainted with salt or fetid soils, poisoned by local flora and fauna, or simply impossible to retrieve, most water ended up being unusable even for washing one’s clothes, not to mention for any other purpose.

Mount Alodiel’s great cistern, then, seemed a boon like no other, and despite the tension everyone felt at the upcoming Rite, they decided almost unanimously that it was time for something that, at the very least, the humanoid members of the team sorely needed: a real bath.

The air was chilly at this elevation, and that combined with the tension of the upcoming Rite made everyone feel a bit hurried. But while Jodariel and Hedwyn had bathed quickly and quietly, and Pamitha was already loathe to be near water for longer than necessary, Shae was more…excitable.

“Come, child, don’t waste it,” Jodariel grumbled. “Just because the Scribes blessed this mountain with clean water doesn’t mean we should splash it everywhere.”

“But, Ti'zo splashed me first, he did!” Shae’s eyes danced with good humor, even as she leaned over the side of the metal basin that served as a bath and pointed an accusatory finger at the imp in question. Ti'zo gave a mock-offended screech and fluttered another few inches away. How could he have splashed her if he wasn’t even nearby?, he seemed to be saying. Imps looked infernal on the best of days, but he put on his best expression of indignant innocence, and turned it up at Jodariel.

She gave a long-suffering sigh and, seemingly giving in, pulled a camping stool over to the side of the basin. “Alright Shae, sit down and let me wash your hair at least.” She pulled a face. “I’m fairly certain I saw a bird nesting in it once.”

Shae let out a chiming laugh, delighted to hear that small animals were seeking refuge in the hair that had so often earned her scorn. Nevertheless, she did as she was asked and rocked back into a sitting position, legs pulled up to her chest and toes wiggling in the clear water. “Thank you! Um, I think that most of the time, it didn’t seem worth it, trying to clean it. So maybe, it’s, um…a little messy? Or a lot messy.”

“‘A lot messy’ is right.” Even a cursory glance revealed that no amount of work would entirely detangle or clean the huge puff that was Shae’s hair, even if they’d had soap to work with. “It may need to be cut…”

“No!” Shae whipped around, hands flying up to her hair, eyes pleading. “Please don’t cut it.”

Jodariel patted Shae’s shoulder gently, slowly, her expression softening as much as a demon’s expression  _could_  soften. “Don’t worry, I won’t cut it if you don’t want me to. I’m just not sure how much I can do…”

“Please don’t cut it…” Shae repeated quietly, but after a bit more reassurance, she lowered her hands and let Jodariel get to work.

While animal nests were (probably) an exaggeration, there was a good deal of miscellaneous plant matter tangled in Shae’s locks. A small pile of leaves, twigs, thorns, burrs, and even long-dry flowers began collecting on the ground as Jodariel worked her way through. For her, this was practically routine; something she had not done in a long while, but that she had certainly not forgotten how to do. It was a sort of muscle memory that jostled for space with that of swinging a sword, feeling it cut through flesh. There was so much pain in the world, particularly this side of it. She had caused some of it, and seen far more. Moments like this were necessary, too. They made it feel like perhaps the pain did have a purpose, and that it might, someday, have an end.

Shae had calmed down significantly, and now leaned against the back of the basin and hummed quietly, her feet moving in an imaginary dance. Knowing what she did about Shae’s situation back in the Commonwealth, Jodariel reflected that she most likely had not been looked after like this for some time. Given that, she was in no mood to rush the young stowaway through her bath.

“Alright,” Jodariel finally said, dropping one last twig on what had become, over the past half-hour, a not-insignificant pile of dead vegetation. “I think that is as much as I’ll be able to do. Fill that cup by your feet and hand it to me, please.”

“Yes ma'am!” Shae happily obliged, scooping up the wooden cup that had been floating gently in the water, filling it, and passing it back. The water immediately cascaded back over Shae’s head and she giggled as it dripped down onto her face and shoulders.

“One more.” Jodariel handed the cup back, it was returned, and she poured it out once again to another bout of giggling. Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t having much effect, although Shae’s hair did seem to be drooping more now than it was before. When a third cup produced no noticeable difference, Jodariel gave up. “Alright, just stick your head under the water and we’ll see what happens.”

Shae turned over, sucked in a huge breath, and held it before submerging her entire head. Her hair began to spread out, coming even looser as she shook her head. The water started to cloud up from the dust she was rinsing out and, unsurprisingly, a few more leaves and twigs bobbed up to the surface. She was under for a worryingly long time, but just as Jodariel was about to grab her shoulder she emerged with a gasp, soaked hair hanging over her eyes and down the back of her neck.

“Augh!” Jodariel held her hands up to shield herself as Shae shook her head side to side, flinging water in every direction. By the time she was done, her hair had puffed right back up to its normal size, although Jodariel noted with some pride that it looked significantly cleaner.

“Wow!” Shae ran her pale fingers through her hair, an excited look on her face. “It did take a while, it did, but, um, I feel a lot better now, I think?”

“Good.” Jodariel handed her a ragged cloth to dry herself with. “Come on then, don’t stay too long. The air is cold here, and you can’t be getting sick before the Rite.”

She accepted the makeshift towel but paused a moment, running her fingers across the threads. “Thank you…” she said quietly, then turned to beam up at Jodariel. “Thank you! The Scribes, I can feel that they brought me here, they had a reason, they wished for me to be here. And, I think you’re part of that, too! So…” She trailed off, seemingly unsure, and cast a brief glance up at Mount Alodiel’s glowing summit. “So, no matter what happens, we’ll still be together, I think.”

In response, Jodariel granted her one of her rarest smiles, still small but achingly soft despite her demeanor. “Yes. We will.”


End file.
